status report

Let’s see what we have so far:

1. An under-construction, overdue, over-budget, seriously flawed, Silver Spring Transit Center.

2. A year old report (commissioned by Montgomery County) that says that the severe flaws (extensive cracking, slabs more than an inch thinner than what they’re supposed to be, exposed reinforcement, missing reinforcement, 250 under-designed beams, understrength and overstressed concrete, suspect concrete test reports, etc.) are the result of errors and omissions by the SSTC’s builder/contractor, engineer/designer and concrete inspector/tester.

3. $10+ million (so far) in repairs to the $120+ million (so far) SSTC, including a latex concrete overlay scheduled to be installed as soon as freezing weather has passed.

Now, let’s see what we don’t have:

1. Expansion joints in the 315 ft. by 580 ft. public, open-air structure (an obvious omission).

2. An opening date.

3. A final price tag.

4. Future operation and maintenance costs, which will be high, given the SSTC's serious design, construction and concrete inspection/testing flaws. 

5. An independent (not involved in the project to-date or paid for by Montgomery County) evaluation of the SSTC’s safety.

6. An independent investigation into Montgomery County’s role as owner and overseer for the project, including selection of the SSTC's contractor/builder, engineer/designer and concrete inspector/tester and the County’s failure to address serious flaws until construction is almost complete.

7. Anything from the Federal Transit Administration or the Maryland Mass Transit Administration that explains their failure to protect the public’s investment in the SSTC. (More than half of the funds for the SSTC are federal funds.)

8. Public meetings where Montgomery County explains to those who are paying for the SSTC (the public) what they’re doing (repairs) and why.

9. An opportunity for the public to ask their questions and make their comments on the public record.

One would think that with all of the media (print, TV, radio, internet) around (the SSTC is within a few hundred yards of the DC/MD line), with their self-proclaimed “in-depth reporting” and “probing questions”, that we’d know more than we do. ... Not so.